Below the jump, is a post I first wrote for the Bloggernacle Timeson 09/23/06. We were several years into the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and the natural abuses of war were being made manifest. Here we are almost five years later and the United States still maintains troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan, for reasons that frankly escape me (particularly in light of the extreme heat–but very little light–generated by the far right about deficits, balanced budgets, and the like). Regardless, I think the message behind Christ’s injunction, i.e., The Golden Rule, is as relevant and important today as they ever were–even in times of war.

Dick Cheney, one of the primary architects of the Iraq war, and of the Bush Administration torture policies has just publishedhis long anticipated autobiography–so called. In it, Mr. Cheney makes no apologies and pitches his torture philosophy all over again. He did the same in a recent interview at media friendly Fox News Sunday. I find the idea is still antithetical to Christ’s teaching of treating others as we would be treated.

The links in the old post should all work (at least the vast majority of the ones I tested did). You may have to wait a minute for the link to actually link through to the original source, as it first takes you to the cached web page of the provider first, then takes you to the actual original link. (more…)

Both the Salt Lake Tribune (also now here) and the Deseret News (also here) report the unthinkable: BYU is going to award Dick Cheney an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service. I had resigned myself to the fact that my alma mater had acquiesced to Dick Cheney’s self invitation to speak at its commencement; however, I cannot begin to fathom the thinking that went into the decision to award Dick Cheney an honorary degree of anything. (more…)

(Update II ) For an updated post on the coverage and photos of the BYU Cheney Protest,see here. (Update I) The Deseret News reports on the Church’s announcement here. The Salt Lake Tribune was on the defensive here. The Church has issued a formal statement on the Dick Cheney invitation to speak at BYU’s commencement in April. The Church’s official statement is on its website here. The subject of Mr. Cheney’s invitation has been discussed at length in the Bloggernacle. I started this discussion over at Bloggernacle Times, just after the story first broke in the Salt Lake Tribune. You can find links to the rest of the Bloggernacle discussions at this prior posthere.(more…)

Most now know that Dick Cheney has been invited by the Church to attend and speak at the BYU commencement in April. I previously posted on that topic over at Bloggernacle Times. I have now located (hat tip to A Soft Answer) an online petition for the BYU community, both past and present, to sign in opposition to this appearance, if you are so inclined. You can view and sign the petition here. You do not need to have attended or currently attend BYU to sign the petition. I also encourage you to visit and read Ronan’s post at BCC, as well as Connor’s post over at Conundrums. Finally, Julie M. Smith has weighed in over at T & S as well. All are well done. A late entry into the Cheney marketplace of ideas is Jim Cobabe’s post over at Snail Hollow Gazette.